Melitzanakia Toursi ( stuffed pickled eggplant)

2 to 21/12 lbs baby or small eggplant ( nomore than 3-4
incheslong ) 4 c strong red or white wine vinegar ( not balsamic)
Salt
Celery Ribs w/leaves 3-4 diced carrots 3-5 garlic cloves, finely
chopped crushed red pepper or black peppercorns to taste 1/4 c
chopped parsley olive oil
Remove stems from eggplants and make 2-3 cuts lengthwise in
each eggplant.
Bring to a boil enough water to cover the eggplant, 1 cup of
vinegar, & 2-3
T salt. Drop in egglant & simmer 3-5 mins, till softened. Remove
pot from heat, rinse, &drain. Let cool.
Drop celery ribs into boiling water for 1-2 mins., just to soften.
Drain & slit celery lengthwise into strips the thickness of a strand
of wood.
Mix carrot, garlic, pepper, & parsley. Taking one eggplant at a time,
carefully fill slit w/ carrot mixture. Wrap w/ soft celery strands,
and secure closed. Place upright in a large airtight,sterilized jar,
and cover w/ remaining 3 cups of vinegar. Pour enough oliveoil to
form a seal of about 1 1/2 inches of oil at the top of the jar.
Store in a cool dry place for 1-2 weeks before you eat them.
Eggplant is in season at the late summer/early fall time of the
year.

SHRIMP SCAMPI

1 cup basmati rice
1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
1 pound large shrimp, in or out of the shell
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 large cloves garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lemon
1/4 cup dry white wine
4 sprigs parsley, preferably flat leaf variety
1 tablespoon butter

1)While the hot-water tap runs, put the rice in a 2-quart saucepan.
Add 2 cups hot tap water and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and bring to
a
boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 10
minutes. Turn the heat off and keep covered until ready to serve.
(Or put the rice, 2 cups hot water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a 2-
quart
microwave-safe container. Cover and put in a microwave oven on
high
power for 10 minutes. Keep covered until ready to serve.)

2)Meanwhile, if using shrimp in the shell, peel the shrimp but leave
the tails on. Put the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-low
heat. Peel and chop the garlic. Add the garlic and cook, stirring,
for 1 minute.

3)Add the shrimp to the skillet, increase the heat to medium, and
cook
for 2 minutes on one side. While the shrimp cook, season them
with
salt and pepper to taste. Juice the lemon half. Turn the shrimp
over
and cook for 1 minute. Then add the lemon juice and wine to the
skillet. Raise the heat to high and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to
mix well. Chop the leaves of the parsley and cut the butter into 4
pieces.

4)Add the parsley and the butter to the skillet. Stir just until the
butter is melted and incorporated, giving the sauce a creamy
texture.
Remove from the heat and serve with the rice.

QUICK SEAFOOD PAELLA

1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
230 g can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp turmeric
300 g / 10 oz long grain rice
1.3 litres / 2Ÿ pints vegetable stock
450 g bag frozen mixed seafood (prawns, mussels and squid rings),
thawed
175 g / 6 oz green beans, halved
handful of chopped fresh parsley
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion and pepper
for 5
minutes until softened but not brown. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes
and
turmeric and cook for 1 minute more, stirring occasionally.
Tip in the rice and cook for 1 minute, stirring to coat the grains.
Pour in
the stock, stir well and bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered
for 8
minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is almost cooked and
most of
the stock has been absorbed. Add the seafood and beans and cook
for 3 - 4
minutes more. Stir in the parsley; season. Serve straight from the
pan with
lemon wedges.

Serves 4

Perfect Pesto
-------------

The Italians call it pesto, but you can also call it pistou, as they do
in
France. There it is used in Pistou Soup, a kind of French
minestrone with a
dollop of pistou. Either word roughly translates into "paste" and
both
translate into a great sauce for pasta. No matter what you call it
though,
it's still made with basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, and cheese. Or
is
it? There are probably as many pesto recipes as there are
cookbooks and
cooks. And that's what makes it so interesting, you can add any
type of nut
or hard cheese in lesser or greater amounts to suit your tastes.
Pesto is one
recipe so simple you really can't goof it up.

Pesto is often served tossed in pasta. Whip up some pesto, get a
little pasta
cooking, thin a few tablespoons of pesto with hot pasta water, toss
in the
pasta, stir, and you have dinner in a flash. Sprinkle the pasta with
some
grated Romano cheese and toasted pine nuts. To round out the
meal make a
quick salad topped with a little chopped basil.

But let's not get stuck on basil pesto. We can make pesto from
parsley as
well. I've even seen oregano and walnut pesto. Parsley pesto has
become one
of our favorites for pasta and barbecued chicken. Yes, barbecued
chicken.
Let's take a look at basil and parsley, the main ingredients and
flavor
profile in our pesto recipes.


CHICKEN IN A GARLIC, HERB AND OLIVE SAUCE

preparation / cooking : 15 / 25 minutes
Use a heavy-based frying pan for this catalan dish to allow the
sauce to
combine and reduce as it should.

225 ml / 8 fl oz olive oil
2 small chickens, about 1.3 kg / 3 lb each in weight, each cut
into 8 pieces
(skin left on)
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
3 bay leaves
300 ml / ó pint dry white wine
12 manzanilla green olives
mashed potato and frisee salad, to serve

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, then fry the chicken over a high
heat for
about 5 minutes on each side until browned.
Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves, then add the wine - take care
as it
will splutter so put the lid on quickly. Reduce the heat and simmer,
covered, for 15 - 20 minutes until the chicken is tender (see tip).
Season
with salt. Stir in the olives and serve with mash and salad.

Serves 6

BRAISED BEEF WITH ALMONDS, PRUNES AND APRICOTS
preparation / cooking : 40 minutes / 1 hour 10 minutes

A dish from Catalonia

2 garlic cloves
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1.3 kg / 3 lb piece of beef topside
2 tbsp plain flour, for coating
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 fresh thyme sprigs
200 ml / 7 fl oz white wine
1 large tomato, chopped
85 g / 3 oz toasted blanched almonds, coarsely ground
10 ready-to-eat dried prunes
10 ready-to-eat dried apricots
mashed potato and green salad, to serve

Pound the garlic and parsley in a pestle and mortar, then press all
over the
meat. Season with salt and lightly pat the flour on top to evenly
coat.
Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish and brown the meat.
Stir in the
onion, thyme and wine and cook over a medium heat for 10
minutes, stirring
often. Stir in the tomato and ground almonds. Cover and cook over
a low to
medium heat for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Stir in the prunes and apricots and cook for a further 15 minutes,
covered,
until the meat is very tender and the sauce is thickened. (If the
sauce is
too thin, remove the beef and reduce the sauce a little over
medium heat.)
Put the beef on a warm serving plate and spoon the sauce around.
Serve with
mashed potato and a green salad.

Serves 6